First ‘Skyfall’ videoblog suggests Sam Mendes is a lifelong James Bond fan

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m a little bit excited about “Skyfall.”

It’s a year where there are some big and significant franchise films coming out, including “The Avengers” and “The Hobbit” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” and of all of them, the one that I have to admit has me most worked up and flustered and desperate for information about is “Skyfall.”

I like what the Daniel Craig years have brought to the James Bond series, and I think they can do anything right now. They’re not painted into any corners. They haven’t done anything in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum Of Solace” that prevents them from going pretty much anywhere with the storytelling at this point. There’s a lot of groundwork laid in those two films, but to what end?

I think the key here in terms of my excitement is Sam Mendes, who I think is a talented guy whose films don’t necessarily fully reflect his skills. The attitude he’s been expressing since coming on-board here, combined with what I’ve heard about him as a Bond fan in general, has me thinking that the producers picked the right guy to handle the 50th anniversary James Bond movie, and that there’s something special in the works for us this year.

Does it thrill me to know that Roger Deakins is shooting a Bond film? Yes. It totally does. Does a quick glimpse of a few seconds of footage make me desperate to see more? Yes. I am ashamed of how much it makes me crazy, but it does. I am dying to see what they’re up to. I want to know if the story rumors I’m hearing are true. I want to know what this means about the cast moving forward. I want to see if they drop any more hints about the big organization behind the scenes in the first two Craig films.

I like that they’re learning a little bit more each time out, setting more of the iconography in place. It feels like the early days of Connery all over again, when they were really putting together the things that would carry the series, that would make it so wildly popular the world over. There’s a big reinvention going on, and so far, so good. They’ve actually succeeded at making Craig’s Bond stand alone, with a story that is his, not particularly tied back to what we’ve seen before. Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Sean Connery, and George Lazenby were all technically playing the same guy, but I don’t think that’s true of Craig. His is the first time where it feels like they did a hard reboot, even with Dench carrying over from Brosnan to Craig. Everything else feels like they started over, like this is the story now. Vesper defines him again, the way she did in the book series. She is the ghost that he’s not going to shake, and if they do this right and Craig makes a few more, maybe we’ll even meet Tracy Bond again, just about the time James is starting to believe he’s bulletproof again. And maybe they’ll break him.

Or maybe they won’t do any of that. But the point is that they’ve opened up an array of possibilities and that’s what makes it exciting again to be a Bond fan. That’s why this is the thing I’m crazy for over some of those other franchise pictures. I hope all of those are good, but this one… I need this one to work. I feel like they’ve got so much going for them, and it would be really heartbreaking for it to not come together. And so even though this first videoblog for “Skyfall” is only two minutes long or so, it’s enough to whet my appetite. Just a little. Just enough:

I hope that the video blogs get a little more in-depth if they’re going to do these. I don’t need story points, but it would be nice to see a little bit more of how they’re shooting and where. I think it’s interesting that Mendes has never made a film at home, and what better way to return to the UK than with a James Bond film?
“Skyfall” will open in theaters in the US on November 9, 2012.

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I feel the same way. So excited and so anticipating this film. Have you started showing the boys Bond films yet? My wife and I are having that debate.

By: JoeK

02.22.2012 @ 2:12 PM

The assembled players and ingredients hold the promise of something special for all fans. Really looking forward to this.

By: Monty Jack

02.22.2012 @ 4:39 PM

Pleasedon’tsuckpleasedon’tsuckpleasedon’tsuck

By: EricJCohen

02.22.2012 @ 6:27 PM

I agree with this article in that the Bond makers seem to be more open to taking 007 outside of the “box” we’ve experienced for over two decades. Although I think QUANTUM is a flawed movie, it does improve with repeat viewings and is definitely better than some of the “worst” Bonds (I like comparing it to LICENSE TO KILL, another Bond film that made an attempt to take risks but didn’t have the talent to pull it off IMHO. It was kind of like an 11 year old boy’s idea of what dark and gritty is supposed to be like. Whereas I felt QUANTUM went in the opposite direction, they tried to hard to make it “arty”).

When are we going to get that series on 007 you suggested you’d write, Drew? I’m very much looking forward to that.

By: HitFix User

02.23.2012 @ 1:50 AM

As someone who has read all of the original Fleming books and has seen all of the films, I always enjoy when you write about Bond, Drew. Your appreciation for him comes from a place that is pretty familiar to me.

How did I miss the Roger Deakins angle? Good God is that exciting.

By: kadoogan

02.23.2012 @ 7:03 PM

This was the first I’d heard of Deakins, too. That plus Thomas Newman has has gotten me irrationally excited about this project.

By: HitFix User

02.23.2012 @ 11:57 PM

@Kadoogan, did you hear the news that they’re releasing this in IMAX? I’d be more excited if they were actually shooting any of it in IMAX, but it’s still a pretty interesting idea.

Have to admit I’m less familiar with Thomas Newman, but he’s obviously a very well-respected composer. I enjoyed what David Arnold did, but the great thing about a series like Bond is that while there’s a distinct musical language to it, there’s always room for a new composer to play. Should be pretty amazing!